COVID19 and Audax UK

[tonyh]

When I next get entries for DIYs outside the UK, I'll be mainly relying on riders to be aware of what their local rules are, and to be complying with them.

It's quite a large handful of riders doing such rides.

And yes, DIY brevets bought from any DIY Org can be used anywhere.

Happy Riding!

(beaten to it by LWaB)

[bairn again]

A balanced and entirely reasonable decision by AUK - they have clearly worked hard on our behalf.  Confusing messages last night on Faceboook and Twitter can be forgiven. 

I'm particularly pleased to see that they have taken into account the fact that the UK is made up of a number of countries each with different powers and approaches on the subject.        

As an organiser I decided in March to both (a) not put any calendar events on and (b) not ride any calendar events until further notice, but keeping DIYs available to those interested is a big ++ imho.   
 
 

[zigzag]

i support auk board's decision, good leadership folks. my "long" rides tend to be 120-160km, but might extend one and make it a 200, if the weather is favourable.

[Greenbank]

I think that is fairly clear “travel” in this context is travel to the start of your exercise or recreation (like the Welsh - “you can cycle as far as you want but start and finish from home”).  I believe the motivation is to avoid crowds congregating at busy places and avoiding public transport (it does also say that this travel is best undertaken on foot or by bike). Perhaps AUK should reiterate this and say “whenever possible you should choose a perm starting near your home”. There were similar guidelines as to whether an excuse was reasonable issued to the police last time and they would not issue a fixed penalty unless the travel time exceeded the exercise time.

Well, I'd disagree. I'd say it's similar to the Welsh guidance (which isn't quite "you can cycle as far as you want but start and finish from home").

https://gov.wales/coronavirus-firebreak-frequently-asked-questions#section-53253

Are there any limits on how far I can run or cycle for exercise?

There are no limits on the distance you can travel during exercise, though the nearer you stay to your home, the better. Your exercise should start and finish from your home and you should exercise alone or with a member of your household.

The key bit being "the nearer you stay to your home, the better".

But I'm happy to agree to disagree on the interpretation of those bits of guidance. AUK has taken its stance.

[Kangaroocourt]

The key bit is not the nearer you stay to your home the better because it is not the law.  The key bits, because they are the law, are that there are no limits on your exercise and you should (must is the correct term) only exercise alone, with members of your household or one other person.  It does not require interpretation. AUK has of course spoken as they are perfectly entitled to do.

[Greenbank]

The key bit is not the nearer you stay to your home the better because it is not the law.  The key bits, because they are the law, are that there are no limits on your exercise and you should (must is the correct term) only exercise alone, with members of your household or one other person.  It does not require interpretation. AUK has of course spoken as they are perfectly entitled to do.

If you choose to ignore the guidance and just look at the legislation then yes, you could choose to interpret how to live in society that way. Good luck with that.

[Davef]

The key bit is not the nearer you stay to your home the better because it is not the law.  The key bits, because they are the law, are that there are no limits on your exercise and you should (must is the correct term) only exercise alone, with members of your household or one other person.  It does not require interpretation. AUK has of course spoken as they are perfectly entitled to do.

If you choose to ignore the guidance and just look at the legislation then yes, you could choose to interpret how to live in society that way. Good luck with that.

The Welsh guidance is more restrictive. It says exercise must start and finish from home and though you can go as far as you like it would be better to stay local.

The English rules say it is better not to travel, but you can so you do not have to start and finish at home. It says nothing about remaining local. Exercise is unlimited and to be encouraged. It also says if you do travel to reach your exercise destination if not local,  then cycling would be the preferred method.

For many just cycling locally would not encourage cycling. Certainly the interpretation that cycling should only be local has not made it through to British cyclings guidance and I am guessing they have a more direct link to government.

I will see if i get an explicit answer to the question “if I live in a town and normally cycle out to the countryside for my exercise, should I now restrict my cycling to my urban locality”.

[Geriatricdolan]

In other news,

I went for a short ride and as I expected, this lockdown is very different from the previous. Traffic is probably 70% of normal, as opposed to 20% of early April.

I wonder where the Fxxk is everybody rushing to...

[rob]

In other news,

I went for a short ride and as I expected, this lockdown is very different from the previous. Traffic is probably 70% of normal, as opposed to 20% of early April.

I wonder where the Fxxk is everybody rushing to...

Yeah the ride to work this morning was not much different to Tuesday.   Just colder.

[Davef]

In other news,

I went for a short ride and as I expected, this lockdown is very different from the previous. Traffic is probably 70% of normal, as opposed to 20% of early April.

I wonder where the Fxxk is everybody rushing to...

Yeah the ride to work this morning was not much different to Tuesday.   Just colder.

Last time it took the last week of March before everyone had reached toilet roll storage capacity.

[Bikeabilityman]

In other news,

I went for a short ride and as I expected, this lockdown is very different from the previous. Traffic is probably 70% of normal, as opposed to 20% of early April.

I wonder where the Fxxk is everybody rushing to...
[/quote
Last time it took the last week of March before everyone had reached toilet roll storage capacity.

I’ve got a few issues of Cycling Weekly ready for the recycling collection in the morning, or I could upcycle them instead, if MK experiences another bog roll shortage 🤣

[GdS]

as in August EPEs up to 200km are allowed although I would ask riders to

1. Not ride from a higher tier area into a lower tier area if this can be avoided
2. Please minimise interaction and contact with other people / shops etc if riding out of your local area
3. Avoid one way EPEs in order to keep the ride as local as possible and also avoid public transport
4. Check the perm hasn't already had the maximum 2 riders on the day you wish to ride/ There is no limit on the number of riders of EPE per day just on the extended perm

extremely convoluted EPE portions are welcome in order to achieve the above 

[mattc]

...

AUK of course will have to stick to the guidelines... if the guidance is go for as long as you want and how far as you like, then I see no reason not to continue with the validations... it probably won't happen though.

Well said!

[iroiromono]

I have a cal. event up here in Scotland on Saturday and getting queries from Riders in England if they can ride.

 I'd guess not as the legislation encourages exercise to be local and non-essential travel from England to Scotland is discouraged. But the AUK guidance is not specifically clear on this.

[Revolution9]

I have a cal. event up here in Scotland on Saturday and getting queries from Riders in England if they can ride.

 I'd guess not as the legislation encourages exercise to be local and non-essential travel from England to Scotland is discouraged. But the AUK guidance is not specifically clear on this.

The Scottish cycling guidance is quite clear;
"Participants should not drive/be driven in or out of Level 4 areas for the purposes of exercise."

I assume Level 4 Scotland = lockdown in England

[FifeingEejit]

There's also the guidance for those under lockdown elsewhere not to enter Scotland, and for people in Scotland not to enter places that are locked down.

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

[Davef]

I believe it is illegal for people to leave England

Edit: I appear to have made that up.

[FifeingEejit]

There was something about people resident of England having to be in their main residence not abroad or at any other but can't remember exactly.

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[GdS]

I've had an ECE 200+100 entry for tomorrow in Scotland;

The new AUK advice only mentions the 200k limit for England is 300k OK in Scotland?

[Deano]

I have a cal. event up here in Scotland on Saturday and getting queries from Riders in England if they can ride.

 I'd guess not as the legislation encourages exercise to be local and non-essential travel from England to Scotland is discouraged. But the AUK guidance is not specifically clear on this.

I don't think English folk can enter Scotland for reasons other than work or essential travel (can't remember the definition, but a long bike ride probably wouldn't cut it).

Dunno whether it's guidance or law, either way I'd say no - and I'm not sure why they're asking you, Robbie, you'll have enough on your plate and folk should be able to look this up themselves!

Ah here we go.

The current Scottish Government guidance, given the state of the epidemic across the UK is that people avoid any unnecessary travel between Scotland and England, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

From: https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-guidance-on-travel-and-transport/

ETA: hope the ride goes well with decent weather

[FifeingEejit]

Reminded me I was going to check the English guidance

11. Travel
If you live in England, you must stay at home and avoid travel in the UK or overseas, unless for work, education or other legally permitted reasons. If you need to travel you should look to reduce the number of journeys if possible.

12. Staying away from home overnight
You cannot leave home for holidays or stays overnight away from your main home unless permitted by law. This means that holidays in the UK and abroad are not allowed. This includes staying in a second home or caravan, if you own one, or staying with anyone you do not live with or are in a support bubble with.

If you were already on holiday, you should return to your home as soon as practical and comply with the ‘stay at home’ requirements in your holiday accommodation in the meantime.

[grams]

The English guidance does say that for exercise, "this should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel to do so if necessary". I think the intention is, if you were a keen kayaker, driving to the nearest lake would probably be ok. Therefore, if you're a keen audaxer, ...

You'd be totally taking the piss though.

[Davef]

“Other legally permitted reasons” includes exercise.

[FifeingEejit]

The English guidance does say that for exercise, "this should be done locally wherever possible, but you can travel to do so if necessary". I think the intention is, if you were a keen kayaker, driving to the nearest lake would probably be ok. Therefore, if you're a keen audaxer, ...

You'd be totally taking the piss though.

Yes it gives travelling a short distance to find open ground to exercise on as an example.

[Lightning Phil]

As per above link to Scotland guidance.

“ Travel between Scotland and the rest of the UK
Restrictions and advice on what you can do and where you can travel are also in place within England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The current Scottish Government guidance, given the state of the epidemic across the UK is that people avoid any unnecessary travel between Scotland and England, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

This applies to people who live in Scotland and to people who live elsewhere in the UK who are thinking of coming to Scotland.”

I’d say decline the riders in England, as it’s against guidance.